Got another Writing Prompt today from the fabulous Nina Pelletier on G+. So here's the first flash fiction piece of the year based on this prompt:
#1 - 1st person POV
#2 - 400 word count maximum
#3 - Your character has an unusual superpower. Very Very unusual. Have him/her tell us about it.
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"Hey," he smiled at me. I loved his smiles.
“Hi,” my voice was tentative.
I hated meeting new people, especially new guys. It was my fault that I was such a loner. One of my girlfriends told me a long time ago that I should get over it. But we’re not friends anymore. Call it self-fulfilling, but I saw Gina and Thomas, my ex, run off together long before they did.
“I’m Jack.” He held out his hand and leaned over the counter.
I tried to act the dumb blonde bit and refused to shake his hand. Instead, I continued with my customer spiel. “Our special today is Midnight Moon Chocolate – it’s really good.”
He eyed me; deep blue, grey steady on mine. He withdrew his hand. For the past month, I was able to gawk at him. He was gorgeous. But I didn’t want to touch him. It would ruin everything.
“Tell you what, Kylie. How about you and I go out on a date. Tonight? This place closes at nine, right?” It wasn’t really a question.
I looked down at my nametag. He made my voice sound like music. “Fine,” I grumbled. It was going to be tonight or never. “Ten.” At least I could go home and get the smell of spoiled milk out of my hair.
We met later at the only theatre in town. We had coffee beforehand, we talked, and we watched the only movie playing at 11pm. I treated him like he was on fire, staying far away from his hands as possible. Touching would ruin everything.
He leaned against his car at the end of the night. “I have to ask, is there going to be another date?”
“Maybe,” I said. Here goes nothing. I planted a kiss right on his lips. It took him by surprise. But what I saw surprised me more. The first time I touch someone, I see the last moment I will ever see them. I feel my heartbreak. That’s how I knew about Thomas and Gina before it happened.
Jack was the first person who wasn’t going to leave me. He cried silently over a hospital bed, my hospital bed, and I felt myself drifting away.
When I pulled back from our first kiss, I had a tear on my cheek.
“That was different,” he said bemused.
“You have no idea.” I wiped the tear away.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Goals 2013
The clocked turned to 12:00 am last night, and I was still wide awake. So I set about reading the first book of the new year.
Since today is the first day of a year, it seems appropriate to do the "this year's goals" post. I accomplished a lot last year, in summary: Published novelette "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade", wrote novella The Unanswerable, wrote 55k of WIP Good Criminal Heart, made my first ten dollars on Examiner, finished Rioss, rewrote RUHE and had an awesome beta critiquing session. And! Had RUHE in the hands of two agents (both rejected, but after initial interest, which is exciting).
Goals by month:
January: Finish Good Criminal Heart, get 30k of Where We Collide edited. Submit The Unanswerable to ABNA after a quick read through (not significant editing, just a quick one!)
February: Finish Where We Collide editing and get it to my beta readers.
March: Make edits to RUHE based on beta's comments. Attempt the same for Where We Collide.
April: Rewrite Rioss (specifically the ending and adding several scenes to make the ending make more sense).
May: Get betas for synopsis, first five pages, and queries for both RUHE and Where We Collide then start querying (this will continue for the rest of the year, goal is 15 agents RUHE and 25 agents Where We Collide)
June: Edit The Unanswerable. Get beta readers.
July: One last read through of Rioss now with new ending, then get betas.
August: Edit The Unanswerable again - maybe hire an editor. Or re-read it 10 times myself.
September: Start campaigning for the self-published release of The Unanswerable. Make some early giveaways, cover reveals, get some bloggers to help me spread the word, etc. Get betas for synopsis, first five pages, and queries for Rioss. Start querying (will continue until I reach 30 agents).
October: Release The Unanswerable (perfect end of the world tale for the month of Halloween!) Prep for NaNo.
November: NaNoWriMo! Yes, I'm going to do it again. Either The Underground, a semi-sequel to The Unanswerable or 2041, my silly sci-fi novel.
December: Wrap up any NaNo leftovers. Start editing Good Criminal Heart.
I'm hoping to start 2014 with three fully-edited pieces, another self-published work, a new novel, and a partially edited novel. Who knows, if I manage on querying the right person at the right time, maybe I'll even get a partner-in-crime (aka. an agent).
What are your goals for 2013? Good luck to everyone! Let's make this year a great one :)
Since today is the first day of a year, it seems appropriate to do the "this year's goals" post. I accomplished a lot last year, in summary: Published novelette "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade", wrote novella The Unanswerable, wrote 55k of WIP Good Criminal Heart, made my first ten dollars on Examiner, finished Rioss, rewrote RUHE and had an awesome beta critiquing session. And! Had RUHE in the hands of two agents (both rejected, but after initial interest, which is exciting).
Goals by month:
January: Finish Good Criminal Heart, get 30k of Where We Collide edited. Submit The Unanswerable to ABNA after a quick read through (not significant editing, just a quick one!)
February: Finish Where We Collide editing and get it to my beta readers.
March: Make edits to RUHE based on beta's comments. Attempt the same for Where We Collide.
April: Rewrite Rioss (specifically the ending and adding several scenes to make the ending make more sense).
May: Get betas for synopsis, first five pages, and queries for both RUHE and Where We Collide then start querying (this will continue for the rest of the year, goal is 15 agents RUHE and 25 agents Where We Collide)
June: Edit The Unanswerable. Get beta readers.
July: One last read through of Rioss now with new ending, then get betas.
August: Edit The Unanswerable again - maybe hire an editor. Or re-read it 10 times myself.
September: Start campaigning for the self-published release of The Unanswerable. Make some early giveaways, cover reveals, get some bloggers to help me spread the word, etc. Get betas for synopsis, first five pages, and queries for Rioss. Start querying (will continue until I reach 30 agents).
October: Release The Unanswerable (perfect end of the world tale for the month of Halloween!) Prep for NaNo.
November: NaNoWriMo! Yes, I'm going to do it again. Either The Underground, a semi-sequel to The Unanswerable or 2041, my silly sci-fi novel.
December: Wrap up any NaNo leftovers. Start editing Good Criminal Heart.
I'm hoping to start 2014 with three fully-edited pieces, another self-published work, a new novel, and a partially edited novel. Who knows, if I manage on querying the right person at the right time, maybe I'll even get a partner-in-crime (aka. an agent).
What are your goals for 2013? Good luck to everyone! Let's make this year a great one :)
Monday, December 17, 2012
How it feels...
You know when you first buy a book? Or you pick up an old book that's been sitting on the shelf for awhile? You know how you try not to be noticed when you smell it?
That's kind of how I feel today.
Except I don't care who sees me with my nose so far in my book that I might as well be snorting it.
The proofs of "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade" came today. I sent two copies to my dad - one will reside with my grandmother. She's my last grandparent - and she told me on Thanksgiving, "I hope to be around when your name is in print."
And now it is.
Terrance wasn't originally intended to become a paperback copy - but my grandma kind of sealed the deal with that comment. I love her to pieces, and after she said that, I needed it to happen.
Getting the copies today in the mail was amazing. They are thin - as a novelette would be. It stands at 50 pages. But heck, I think they are 50 really fantastic pages, and it is only $3.99 for a copy of the book, which will be only $2 more than the ebook.
I say it is quite a steal for 50 pages of good content, especially since magazines sometimes are more than $4 each.
Anyway, you can get the paperback version yourself from CreateSpace.
Or you can purchase an ebook from Amazon or Smashwords.
I will be here in my room smelling my book until I fall asleep. And if you are an author and haven't smelled one of your books yet, you should.
That's kind of how I feel today.
Except I don't care who sees me with my nose so far in my book that I might as well be snorting it.
The proofs of "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade" came today. I sent two copies to my dad - one will reside with my grandmother. She's my last grandparent - and she told me on Thanksgiving, "I hope to be around when your name is in print."
And now it is.
Terrance wasn't originally intended to become a paperback copy - but my grandma kind of sealed the deal with that comment. I love her to pieces, and after she said that, I needed it to happen.
Getting the copies today in the mail was amazing. They are thin - as a novelette would be. It stands at 50 pages. But heck, I think they are 50 really fantastic pages, and it is only $3.99 for a copy of the book, which will be only $2 more than the ebook.
I say it is quite a steal for 50 pages of good content, especially since magazines sometimes are more than $4 each.
Anyway, you can get the paperback version yourself from CreateSpace.
Or you can purchase an ebook from Amazon or Smashwords.
I will be here in my room smelling my book until I fall asleep. And if you are an author and haven't smelled one of your books yet, you should.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Hardcover Giveaway Winners
Congratulations goes to Katie D and Miaka! You both have e-mails regarding your prizes!
For anyone who didn't win a prize - don't worry! The ebook giveaway is still live. You could win one of three titles! Enter below - if you are already a blog follower, that's one free entry.
And, to add a cherry on the top of this Holiday cake, anyone that wins a prize will also receive a free ecopy of my newest novelette, "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade"!
Happy entering! We will pull the winners for these three prizes in four days!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
For anyone who didn't win a prize - don't worry! The ebook giveaway is still live. You could win one of three titles! Enter below - if you are already a blog follower, that's one free entry.
And, to add a cherry on the top of this Holiday cake, anyone that wins a prize will also receive a free ecopy of my newest novelette, "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade"!
Happy entering! We will pull the winners for these three prizes in four days!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Monday, December 10, 2012
Published and Giveaway!
Yeah, I barely remember that post myself, but the point is - I've done it. I'm proud to announce that my not-quite-novella (aka novelette) is published and available on Amazon
or Smashwords!In addition to this super fabulous amazing news, I will be adding good news to it!
You know that Winter Giveaway that's still going on?
Well, each winner within the giveaway (there will be five winners) will receive a free ebook copy of My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade.
How's that for gifting before the holidays?
Now, if you don't know what Terrance Wade's Summer Vacation is all about, you should read this super awesome blurb:
Terrance’s dad always said, “Never let your mother through that door.” So when she comes in through the window, Terrance figures it’s okay.
His mom says, “Terrance, your dad doesn’t want me to show you the world. But we’re going – tonight, now."
Terrance, a naive yet astute 7-year-old, doesn’t know he’s being kidnapped by his mother. Instead, he thinks she’s a secret agent, and he believes they’re on a mission to save the world.
If that's not enough to get you interested, let me tell you why I personally loved writing Terrance. He's absolutely silly. He's one of the silliest kids in the world. He constantly finds ways to undermine his parents (unknowingly), and he frequently misunderstands things.
It's currently priced at a small sum of $1.50. It's 15k words, and I firmly stand behind the "99 cents per 10k words" philosophy. If you don't feel like buying it, but are interested, you should head over to the giveaway and enter! There's five chances to win (the two hardcover contests close tonight)!
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